By Trevor Howard

SE Campus welcomed residents of the Arlington Life Shelter for a Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 22. 

The annual event offered not only food but activities and live entertainment by SE students.

“This was the 17th year that TCC has done the Thanksgiving shelter dinner, and it was very successful,” SE sociology assistant professor and event organizer Sharon Wettengel said. “There were just under 90 people from the shelter there, and about 125 students in total helped with the entire process.”

The dinner setting was arranged to look as close to a five-star restaurant as possible, with a full Thanksgiving menu for the adults and children.

Most of the students who helped were from student organizations.

Although not all of them worked the actual dinner, they were all vital to the success of the dinner, Wettengel said.

“We wanted to do something for the people of the shelter that was a little out of the ordinary,” she said. “We wanted them to have a good few hours even with all of the other things they have going on in their lives, but none of that would have been possible without the wonderful help that we had from all of the students.”

This was the first year student Amber Austin participated.

“It was a wonderful experience,” she said. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. To see their faces light up when they came through the door warmed my heart.”

Besides full tummies, the children from the shelter left with books and toys.

“They were all really nice people, and I’m glad we could share this event,” said Austin, who also served as an event organizer. “I think the dinner was a huge success. All of our guests left happy, and their overall happiness was my goal.”